It would have been owl over for bird if not for rescuer

Thanks to a man who gives a hoot, a barred owl is alive and hunting in the fields of Camp Joslin in Charlton.

David M. Rose, 75, of Charlton said he was driving near the camp on Richardson Corner Road on Oct. 5 in a downpour when he saw an injured owl lying near the road.

“If I hadn’t stopped, I’d have probably hit him,” he said.

He found the bird of prey lying dazed under power lines. It had obvious injuries to both eyes and its wing.

“Owls have been my favorite bird all my life. I couldn’t just leave it there,” Mr. Rose said.

He threw his jacket over the owl and put it in his back seat. Once home, he called the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University in North Grafton.

“They said to bring it over right away,” he said.

Katie E. Cinnamond, assistant director of public relations at Tufts, said veterinarians found the bird had injuries to both eyes and a coracoid bone fracture that interfered with flight. It took nearly six weeks to heal.

“The owl is healed, and as is our practice, it was released by the finder close to where it was found.”

Mr. Rose had planned to release the bird yesterday, but the owl had other ideas. It was extremely difficult to catch in its flight pen, and when it was finally caught on Tuesday, it became agitated and veterinarians wanted to limit its time in its small cage.

Mr. Rose and his wife, Virginia A. Rose, collected the owl in their family cat carrier and met Jesse W. Welch, facilities director for Camp Joslin, on Tuesday afternoon in a large field surrounded by pine and oak trees just a few hundred yards from where the owl was found.

When Mr. Rose opened the box, the owl sat back and turned its huge black eyes to its savior for a moment before flying high up into a nearby tree. From its perch, the owl continued to look at Mr. Rose for about 10 minutes before flying to another tree.

“Isn’t he beautiful,” Mr. Rose said.

Mrs. Rose said, “We feel so good to have him out there where he belongs.”

She said she became attached to this owl, though she is not as fond of owls as her husband is.

“An owl tried to get our cat ‘Pinky’ two winters ago. She had three claw marks down her back. She’s fine now.”

Mr. Welch said owls are birds of prey, and in a difficult winter will hunt whatever they can catch.

“Since they are only active at night, you don’t see them too often.”

Anyone who wants to get a good look at a barred owl can see one Mr. Rose found dead several years ago.

“I had it stuffed and mounted. It’s in the office at Buffumville Dam with its talons out after a mouse. It’s really beautiful,” he said.

Mr. Rose served four years in the U.S. Army 181st Combat Engineers and is a frequent volunteer at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dam site, where he often sees a variety of wildlife, including owls.

He said he and his wife of 51 years will visit Camp Joslin in hopes of catching a glimpse of the barred owl.

Mr. Welch, who lives near the entrance to the camp, promised to keep an eye out for the bird.